Pomme café review – the apple of my eye

As regular readers may have established (from here… or here… or even here!), I may have a bit of a sweet tooth. Everyone knows dessert occupies a different space in the stomach, right?! So it may come as no surprise to learn that one of my favourite “meals” of the day is afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea in Hong Kong can be a little strange; whilst many chan chan tengs do offer afternoon ‘tea sets’, these often include pork chops, chicken wings, bowls of macaroni and wedges of toast about the thickness of The Bible. Not exactly jam and scones, is it? So the rise of the Western coffee shop, and a mid-afternoon pit-stop to refuel after a hard day’s shopping, is something I wholeheartedly champion!

Pomme is exactly the sort of place that comes to mind. A little haven of Continental peace and quiet in bustling Wan Chai, it’s one of those places where I find myself wanting to buy not just everything on the menu, but everything decorating the place too!

I loved the colourful pretty prints of French shops on the wall. I loved the cabinet of antique copper teaware. I loved the door handle shaped like a whisk, the baby Eiffel tower made out of baguettes and the numerous ornaments inspired by their name (French for apple). Most of all, I loved their delectable range of cakes on display at the counter – great for hungry eyes to feast on, not so great for poor decision-makers (especially when your inner 5 year old wants to go for the signature cupcake decorated to look like a donkey)!

In the end, I settled for a chocolate hazelnut tart whilst my auntie went for lemon cheesecake (both $28). Thankfully, Pomme didn’t go for the cheat’s option of spreading the tart base with Nutella to achieve the chocolate hazelnut effect! Instead the filling was decadently rich, creamily smooth and with little crunch explosions of hazelnut pieces inside. However, although the tart shell was utterly buttery, it was a too hard and came away from the ganache-esque filling too easily.

The lemon cheesecake was a beauty. Light, tangy and neither too sweet, too tart or too heavy, it came complete with crumbly buttery biscuit base, silky smooth topping and just enough zing of lemon to keep things interesting. Textbook stuff.

Finally, a nice cuppa char to wash things down. I particularly liked how the menu told you which kind of teas were suited to which desserts – although I subsequently ignored all advice and went for the one with the prettiest name. My Vanilla Sencha (around $24) was delicately but not overwhelmingly sweet; a good clean fresh brew! I was rather taken with Pomme’s classy teacups – check out those fluid flowing lines!

Although a little pricey, it’s pretty much what I’d expect from a coffee shop in England and certainly no worse but far tastier than the likes of the dreaded Starbucks and Pacific Coffee. For the serene ambience, beautiful décor and an extensive menu I look forward to working my way through, Pomme is definitely deserving of ‘regular pit-stop’ status!